I, like many Panthers fans I should imagine, were overjoyed when it was announced the NIC were going to host the 2nd round of the Continental Cup for their group. As much as we love hockey, the opportunity to see some European teams play in the arena in competitive competition was a new experience, or at least it is for me having only been attending matches for the past 4 seasons.
The Panthers organisation did a great job of promoting the event, making the games accessible by ensuring the Panthers were playing the second fixture each day and the price of the tickets were also fantastic. Who can argue with 6 games of hockey for £47? I acknowledge that the turn out in the arena today was partly due to the fact that Panthers fans have had a lot to shell out for recently with the run of Challenge Cup games and Clarkes testimonial.
In fact, even when the competition threatened to be derailed because the Estonian team were unable to participate, a solution was found and plans for 3 days of hockey were back on track.
Then today came. Excited didn't begin to cover it. Having to sit at my desk at work waiting for 4pm was a difficult task! Twitter was full of messages of support from teams throughout the country and it felt brilliant to be part of the hockey family. You certainly don't see this so much within football.
Then when it all finally started, we were treated to a good game of hockey between The Hague and Riga. The Hague were slow and their nettie made Doyle look good. Riga were quick and efficient and the 8-3 scoreline was well deserved. In my opinion, Hague didn't do enough to counter act the speed of Riga and they were made to look like slow old men.
Next up were the Panthers against Spanish side Vitoria who to their credit battled hard and remained fairly disciplined despite only having their place in the competition confirmed a few days earlier. This is where is started to go wrong for me.
Now there will be those of you that will read this and think that I am overreacting. Maybe I am, the job was done, the points gained and we move on to the next challenge. But it was the manner of the way the job was completed that left me a little annoyed.
No disrespect intended but however hard they worked, Vitoria weren't a good side. It felt at times like we were watching Hull or Edinburgh. However in the first period we showed them far too much respect and we finished the period level at 1-1. The second period was different only as much as we showed glimpses of quality and finished the period 4-1 in front. But the effort didn't quite seem to be there, Panthers never really got out of second gear.
Then in third period Kowalski was replaced in net by Green. Corey was sending out the message that the game was over. But it wasn't. Although we won 5-3, putting Green in nets sent out the message to Vitoria that we weren't taking it quite as seriously as we should be. There will be those of you that think it was good for Green to get some vital experience and also some will be of the opinion, as Corey was, that the game was as good as over and we needed to save ourselves for bigger battles this weekend.
But let me explain why I am frustrated.
We had an opportunity to set down a marker not only for the group but for British Ice Hockey. How many Panthers fans are now wondering whether or not we can beat Riga over the weekend? Why are we thinking that? It's because in hammering the Hague they have set the marker. We had an opportunity to come out and beat Vitoria well, send the message to Riga and The Hague that they should be worried about us. I am the kind of person who wants to win and win well when the opportunity presents itself, because when playing one off games against unknown teams there is a mental advantage to be gained and tonight I honestly believe we handed it to Riga.
On a separate note, those of us that complain about the officiating in this country should have seen tonight's games. There was one incident in the early game where a 2+2 penalty was given for little more than handbags. I don't think any of our officials would have given a penalty like that and you almost have to appreciate the way that our league is allowed to express themselves in a more physical manner.
Lastly, I want to say thank you to those that take the time to read my blog and to those of you on Twitter who have banter and opinions throughout the week. You all help make my working day pass a little quicker and certainly helped build my anticipation for today's games!!
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